Paying Attention, City Dogs versus Country Cousins

I just spent a few days in The Big Apple, and not surprisingly found myself watching dogs and their people on the sidewalks of New York City. Here are the two things that I noticed first: One, many of the dogs had on coats. Lots and lots of coats. Granted, it was a tad nippy on my first day because of the wind, but even when the wind died down and it was in the 30’s, many of the dogs were still in jackets. Not much to say about that, except it’s rare to see dogs in jackets here in Wisconsin, even in cities where the dogs live in apartments. Could this be as much about fashion as function? No idea. I’m curious to hear from those of you who live in cities. That said, this is a dog (seen at the dog park by the Museum of Natural History) who definitely need a coat! (Maybe one size smaller? If one could even find such a thing. This was truly a pocket pooch.)

Second, very few people looked at their dog while they were walking. I didn’t think too much about that until I was walking my dogs on the farm, and realized that I almost never took my eyes off my dogs, even in a fenced area. There are several obvious reasons for that: All the dogs in the city were on leash and did not need to be “looked after” in the same sense that an off leash dog does—Is Maggi about to turn and chase a duck in the pond behind her? Is your dog, maybe Captain or Martha about to roll in fox poop?” Better pay attention!

But there’s another reason I watch my dogs so much. I love doing it. One of my greatest joys in life is watching my dogs as they move through the environment. Look how funny Maggie looks when she turns to look at me when she’s confused by a noise! Isn’t Tootsie adorable when her ears flap like Dumbo as she runs? I do take my dogs on leash walks too, but I still watch them constantly. However—important difference here?—I usually am walking in a suburban environment, not a busy urban setting. Or am I primed to watch them obsessively because Willie used to be so dog-dog aggressive?

Here’s the essential question: Do people in the city look at their dogs less as they are walking than if in other environments? If so, why? I asked this very question of Melissa McCue-McGrath, a trainer in Boston and author of the book Considerations for the City Dog. Besides the obvious “dog on a leash already being ‘managed’ by the leash,” she suggested that the “no eye contact” unwritten rule in urban cultures might be at play. When she moved from Maine to Cleveland she realized that the standard “hello” or “head nod” made to passers-by in the country was out of place in the city. Too many people to acknowledge, and so much else to attend to—traffic, not bumping into someone else, Walk and Don’t Walk signals, etc. I too noticed when I walked in New York City that no one made any eye contact. It felt strange and rude to me. (But then, there’s that straw that I always feel must be in my hair when I arrive in New York…)

Melissa suggested that the urban “no eye contact” umwelt might also relate to people walking their dogs in the city. As in, “Don’t look at anybody.” Indeed, there is little time to: dog walkers are primarily paying attention to traffic signals and to “creating personal space” by walking with their eyes forward. Perhaps that explains the study of Italian researcher Mongillo and colleagues (2015), which looked at how much attention owners pay to city dogs with “problem behaviors.” (“Attention of dogs and owners in urban contexts: Public perception and problematic behaviors,” 2015). Bottom line? People who had dogs with what they defined as “problem behaviors,” including aggression to other dogs or people, did not attend to their dogs more than people with unproblematic dogs. Eeeps, that might be a problem, yes?

I asked two dog owners who live in the city, Melissa and friend and colleague Leslie Meredith, if they thought this lack of attention was a problem for the dogs. “Absolutely” was the answer: Both argued that owners miss critical signs of stress in their dogs that should be noted and attended to long before the dog begins barking or lunging at something that is scaring it. Leslie commented that she sees people walking their dogs while talking on their phones, all the while navigating busy streets and sidewalks. Eeeps, my mind begins to smoke thinking of all that stimulation.

On a related note, besides attention, what do city dogs need that suburban or country dogs don’t? First and foremost, of course, is a temperament that can handle the high level of stimulation that occurs in the city. I sympathize with dogs who, for whatever reason, simply can’t handle the hyper-stimulation of a big city. I’ve had far too many clients who adopted a dog adopted from the third world who is overwhelmed by an urban environment.

My conversation with Melissa about urban dogs led to a listing of the cues, in order of importance, that she thinks city dogs should master. Here they are:

Name/Attention (Universal I suspect, right?).

Leave It (Trash all over the streets…)

Wait (… at intersections, apartment doors, elevators.)

Recall (If dog is off leash ever, or what if leash breaks?)

Paw/Shake (Because the paws of urban dogs get covered daily with salt, nasty stuff, etc, and need to have their paws wiped off on a daily basis.)

“Moving Attention” – Including the ability to heel on both sides of the owner (Broken glass on the left? Need to move dog to the right).

Melissa stresses to her clients, and I love this, that “heel” is for moving short distances only, not for long walks for exercise. I would add that heeling for long periods is actually extremely difficult—try it sometime. And besides, dogs can’t sniff when they are heeling (see earlier post).

I’d love to hear your list if you live, or have lived in a city. FYI, my my short list training hierarchy for dogs who are often off leash is:

Attention (name),

Stop on Cue (instantly),

Recall, and

Leave It.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this, I love getting feedback from people with dogs in different environments.

I’ll leave this topic (for now) by recommending Melissa’s book, Considerations for the City Dog. It has a lot of good information in it (“Smaller isn’t always city friendly”) and I love her perspective. Two other books about dogs in the city are The City Dog by Sarah Whitehead and Civilizing the City Dogby Pam Dennison (primarily about reactive dogs in an urban environment). I haven’t read them, let us know if you have and found them useful.

MEANWHILE, back on the farm. No snow here, and I am yearning for it. Little sun here too… it’s cloudy and grey and the ground is exhausting to walk on. All ice and ankle-breaking bumpy stuff that forces you to hunch over into a posture of abject misery in order not to fall down. I got so frustrated on Saturday that I left the dogs in the house and walked down the country road in front of my house just so that I could stop walking like an old woman carrying a load of wood on her back.

Still no chance to work sheep because of the footing (hooving?), but Willie and Maggie worked through a new set of Bison knuckles while Jim and I watched the Broncos beat the Patriots. (Smile. Sorry NE.) Maggie and Willie got to visit the local pet store for work on general cues like heel, wait, leave it. A gorgeous GSD showed up when Maggie and I were inside (my primary reason for going was to work on her reactivity to unfamiliar dogs). The GSD barked and lunged at Maggie, although from a good thirty feet away. Maggie stopped in a tense posture, but didn’t growl, and then looked back at me when I asked her to. Glory hallelujah, she began “auto watching” as I talk about in Feisty Fido, soon after. We played the “Where’s the dog?” game while the GSD was the perfect distance away at the cash register, and left feeling mutually proud of ourselves.

I struggled this weekend to find some good photographs in the cloudy, dull weather. Everything is just so, uh… blah.I know there are beautiful things to be found within all this, but this just wasn’t the weekend that I could find my inner artist. Here’s the best I could come up with, taken on the way home from our pet store excursion:

And here’s a scene from a drama I got to watch this morning. Every day there is a large flock of turkeys that feeds in a field between the farm and my office. I keep waiting for the sun to come out so that I can get a good picture, but the one time it was sunny this weekend I was in town. But this morning I stopped to try to get some photos, and was entertained by two turkeys having some kind of avian disagreement. Mating season is coming up soon, and I suspect that had a lot to do with one turkey harassing another. I sat and watched them for ten minutes, and one turkey never stopped harassing another, including running him (her?) out of the group by a good thirty yards as I drove away. (I played with the effects a bit in Aperature, the snow wasn’t really that blue. You can see how desperate I am for color!). The second turkey from the left was the target, you can see the one just to the right of him with his beak open, lunging forward.

Here’s hoping that this week brings joy and color to your life! (And digging out from under if you are on the East Coast!)

Comments

I am fostering a 9-year old Golden Retriever, who is diabetic, went through surgery and chemo therapy last summer and has lost 25 pounds in the past year…I decided she might feel the chill more than the typical Golden, so she does wear a fleece jacket when temps are below freezing. And, yes, I have taken some good-natured teasing here in my small town, about my fashion-conscious dog.

My greyhound is a city dog, albeit a smaller city than NYC: Portland, Oregon. I grew up in NYC, so it’s interesting to imagine walking him in Manhattan, where there definitely is the unwritten rule regarding eye contact. Walking him here in Portland, I do tend to watch him a lot, mostly because I find him beautiful and interesting, and also because he likes to pick up things he’s not supposed to and so I have to keep an eye on that! But my way of walking in Portland is very different from my way of walking in NYC, where you have to navigate a greater number of people, so it’s quite possible that I wouldn’t look at him as much. What a shame that would be!

I appreciate the tips about the training cues. One of the things that makes our walks much easier and enjoyable is how responsive he is to leash signals – just a little tension to the left or right is all he needs to know that’s the way to go. But all of them, especially “Wait” are very necessary for busy streets.

I am not a member of the “cell phone” generation. I have one, but I don’t use when driving or when walking my dog, Sally. Sally is learning to moderate her tendency to be over-reactive. Today’s walk involved 2 dogs from across the street and up the block. She handled it satisfactorily, with much less barking, growling, trying to lunge. I made a fuss over her for a few minutes. She still does not feel comfortable having me pet her when we’re out. I cannot IMAGINE trying to walk with her while texting or talking on the phone. To me, doing those things while walking with your dog (or your kids, friends, sweethearts for that matter) is a form of abandonment. We delude ourselves thinking “they” don’t notice. Who among us can really afford to set up that kind of karma? I totally get gray and blah. In the Pacific Northwet (spelling intentional) it’s beautifully sunny and very mild. I’ve seen daffodils about to open and other spring flowers today. Sadly, they come up early and then play to gray days. But OH! the sun feels awesome!

Eliminating on command is one thing that may be very useful in the city . Also training to eliminate extra barking seems like a good city thing and because exercise options are more limited, training even non-retrievers to retrieve balls or other toys or some other activity might help with exercise. Because dogs and people interact so closely in the city. Owners training themselves in reading dogs body language seems very helpful in preventing misunderstandings in the tight confines of the city and city dog parks. That’s all I can think of now

My sister had a dog in NYC who became more and more nervous and aggressive when walked on the street, and even had what appeared to be seizures when going to Central Park. He came to live with me in the suburbs and became a different dog. He was mellow, friendly, and didn’t have any more seizures. I suspect that not only was the neighborhood less stimulating, but that whoever walked him was less nervous because they didn’t have to worry about his behavior.

Thanks Trish. Regarding eye contact and people. With my urban border collie, Mason, I continue to use the face mask when I walk him downtown. What I’ve noticed with him is that he has some ocd behaviors. And he has gotten habituated to enteracting with people he meets on the street. Wearing the mask is helping him to learn new behaviors. He is learning how to self regulate. I’ve decided to keep him, he is happy and well loved. The biggest problem for me is dealing with people. Thank you so much for attention to the urban dog topic. ☺

As a former New Yawker who resided on the upper West Side in my youth (albeit with a goldfish) I recall frequent observations of how folks there and then interacted with their pups. Back in the early 60’s there weren’t cell phones to interfere with those relationships and both parties benefitted as a result.

When I was in high school I was extremely fortunate to have landed the job of walking a neighbor’s red Dobies in nearby Central Park and I instinctively made it my mission to make it their time, not mine – even though I got tremendous joy from watching them be whomever they wanted to be.

I remember seeking out other folks with their dogs and we were of like mind in the belief that dogs often like to cavort with their own species and as is often the case anywhere people with dogs congregate we got extreme pleasure watching our “kids’ interact with each other. This was long before there was ever a thought of self limiting “dog parks” and we were savvy enough to know where we could go to keep a low, if not invisible profile.

We would be remiss if we stereotyped even the majority of NYC dog walkers as disinterested, self absorbed “dog managers”. Maybe things have changed since I moved to the hills and forests of Northwestern Connecticut and perhaps it’s because of the ever increasing restrictions put on dog families – or is it because our relationships with our significant canines varies so greatly from family to family regardless of one’s location?

If I don’t watch what my dogs are watching, sniffing, marking, tracking or devouring on any of our two daily hikes then I consider it my loss and something that I can’t rewind and replay. So it doesn’t happen. I don’t fault those in your opening descriptions, Trish, I just don’t understand them.

Having both lived in the Chicago city proper as well as the suburbs, I have to say, I have always had my eyes glued to my dog while walking in the city. I’m always worried that *other* people aren’t going to pay attention and bump into, trip, or kick one of them. 🙁 Even though we now live in the suburbs, it’s still an urban area, and we live in an apartment complex between two busy main roads. That said, my dogs are always off leash here, and recall is paramount obviously. We have a large grassy stretch between my first floor patio and the beginning of the parking lot where my dogs are allowed to potty as well as run around. As Shelties (2, on 8y/o, one 4), I feel that off leash time to really run is important for their well being, so as puppies I trained them both with that goal in mind. Besides as near to perfect recall as I can get, attention signal (stop what you’re doing and look to me), wait, and drop it are my go commands for successful outdoor situations.

A few years ago, my husband and I drove into Quebec city at 5 p.m. on a Saturday. Actually, he drove, freeing me to ogle at the hundreds of dog-owning pedestrians whose buddies ambled calmly along–no pulling to be seen anywhere. But, as you observed in NYC, no one was looking at their dogs, either.

When I’m in a city, which is true a few weeks each year. I walk everywhere I can–usually four to five miles daily. While I walk, I’m paying attention to what’s going on around me (while avoiding eye contact, yes), which is one way of being street-smart in an urban setting where anything and everything are possible. If I’m on a quiet street, persons ahead of me look over their shoulders when they hear my footfall. It’s not unfriendly (nor is it friendly), and it’s not fearful; it’s just paying attention.

Jump back to midcoast Maine, where I live. When my minister was fairly new in town, he asked me one day if I’d been working a dog on a footbridge a few mornings earlier. He was on the distant shore, too far away to identify anyone, but he said a person was so intently focused on walking a dog that he thought it might have been I. In fact, that morning I was socializing a pup there–three kinds of surfaces on that bridge and all kinds of people!

If I gave a dog that quality of attention in the city I visit, I would expect to be mugged or run over. But then I would expect the same if I talked on a cell phone in the neighborhoods I walk though, so we’re not all alike, are we?

Talkin’ turkey: They hang out in same-sex groups, as you probably know, and the group you photographed was male–you can tell by the feather dangling from each chest, which females don’t have. Last year we had deep snow, and our bird feeding station became a wild turkey convention center. In little snow this year (even now), we’re visited by just one group of males. Always we see evidence of pecking orders. Your photo makes me want to see how much the target bird’s stately stance was altered by having his bum pinched.

I live in NYC with my 3 year old schnauzer who we raised in the city from 9 weeks. I love your Other End of the Leash book and I give it to everyone that I know who is getting a dog. I must have purchased at least 30 copies by now. It is an amazing resource that I relied on when preparing to train my new pup (my first dog). We walk to and from work every day, about 3 miles in total. One of the most important things for city dogs is to expose them to the noise and bustle early. A friend adopted a 7 month old dog that was farm raised. She never adjusted to street life and the poor girl would shake like a leaf outside and become terrified at the start of the walk process. Another unique problem is the “dig in” — my pup got so used to strangers stopping to pet him that he started digging in to stop the walk. After consulting at puppy class we ended up doing the slow drag (in a harness of course) until he realized it wasn’t working anymore. Third big problem is owners of small dogs not socializing thier dogs as pups because of their vulnerable size and those dogs being terrors when eventually walked. The small dogs are worse lingers and tappers than the large ones in NYC. Fourth problem is needing to watch out for others dogs because they are not socialized and the owners are in denial. So many times we have had dogs lunge at us or snap after the owner says they are friendly. Its clear the owner knows it’s a problem but doesn’t care or hopes it won’t happen again. I would say my top city dog commands are Name/Attention, Leave It (and never encouraging eating off the ground), Look (verbal and physical is very important in the distracting city – I use an emphasized foot tap for the physical Look since the dog is near my foot and usually looking down/front), and Wait. We allow our dog to chase birds or squirrels but only after loose leash waiting (i say OK! And then run with him). Last point is everyone in NYC would greatly benefit from consistent leash work – so many dogs are unclear on where they should physically be. My friends watched our dog for two weeks and they decided to work on his leashed walk because our dog was so consistent and calm. Why? He knows what we want and where to be. Thanks again for such interesting and useful training books!

I lived in cities growing up and still care for my mother’s dog now and then, a chihuahua in san francisco. (pictures on my Facebook) City dogs often need elevator skills: wait before going into and getting out of the elevator. You never know who is in there or waiting for you to come out. Stand close by in elevator (I don’t recommend sit because your tail can get stepped on) The neighbors have to be cool about it, but hallway fetch can be awesome.

We are rarely in the city, when we are the dogs are hyper excited because it is new and everything smells different. There is no such thing as loose leash in the city! They are kept tight by our sides but we are not walking them, we are going from Point A to Point B. We find the cities in the south really are friendlier and people will stop us to ask if they can pet our dogs more than here at home in Chicago. Can’t comment on NYC.

I walk them off leash in our suburban neighborhood (no sidewalks), only close to our house where we know every neighbor. The main command I need is “too far” – they don’t have to return to me but they need to get closer to me. I have better control over them if I don’t have to raise my voice plus I don’t like them up too close to people’s houses. Some neighbors enjoy seeing our dogs outside their window, others find that intrusive. Some properties we avoid altogether and walk across the street, those people don’t even like a dog peeing in their yard. “Too far” is the same command we use at the dog park. It’s funny, they act like they don’t hear me. They never look up from their sniffing but they do get closer to me.

Interesting, city dogs, country/farm dogs. I live in Lincoln, Nebraska but my dogs get to herd, work cattle 3-4 times a week and we hike at State Rec area on a regular basis so they can run off leash. When I hike with my dogs, two border collies, I hike and don’t pay much attention to my dogs, they explore and disappear and eventually check in with me, love having then running back to check on me and then see them take off and explore and do what dogs do. I should add we are on a 5,000+ acre area with no roads within miles…

Trish, I agree completely with your list of essential off-leash commands. The city cue list is also good, except I have never found much use for heeling. My first two dogs heeled reliably on- or off-leash, but I never found much practical benefit. Perhaps it would be different in a large city.

We live in a small city so our dogs get a mix of city and country life. A linear park runs along a creek, through the downtown, and connects to one of the dog parks. This linear park has lots of dogs, people, and activities, so it is fantastic for socialization walks. We also have several large wooded parks nearby that are great for off-leash rambles.

Red Dog was a country dog and freaked out on one of our first downtown walks (narrow sidewalk, band playing at a bar, drunks singing outside). Thank goodness for the Martingale collar, or she would have backed out of her collar and onto a busy street.

Red Dog likes walking downtown now.

Re people watching their dogs: A few local dogs are iffy when the dog park gets crowded. The observant owners recognize the warning signs and intervene before their dogs go over threshold. The oblivious owners miss the signs and blame the other dog ☹

This is why we don’t go to the dog park as often as we used to.

I love watching dogs so I observe ours closely. On walks Red Dog and I both scout for squirrels. Red Dog cheats by using her superior hearing and scenting, but even so it is easy to see her body language change when she switches to critter acquisition mode.

I find watching dogs much more rewarding than fiddling with a cell phone.

I am in suburbia and unfortunately, I walk the same route most of the time. I watch my dog (very large male Afghan Hound). I have my cellphone with me as an emergency tool (and my exercise monitor) but I rarely talk while walking. My boy is somewhat reactive so I have to keep an eye out for other dogs in yards that we pass, as well as occasionally meeting another dog walking around us. I also have to watch where he marks (I don’t allow him to mark on landscaping or man-made objects, only trees and the occasional shrub) and that takes some keen eyes and reading body language! I use leave it, chill (when he sees another dog), hurry up (for eliminating), watch me, easy (go slow, as in walking over ice), wait (at curbs) and say hello (if someone wants to pet him). I will also exercise him while I ride my tricycle, and believe it or not, he is much less reactive when we do that..why?… moving faster? I occasionally have to use the ‘get back’ cue if he inches too far forward. I don’t want him crossing in front of the trike! He has become very good about jogging along side. Now if I could just get him to pull a bit when we have to go uphill……

Oh, I love this topic! Another command I’ve worked hard to teach is ‘drop it!’ I have spent the last 4 years living down the street from different places that sell fried chicken and there are so many chicken bones, Jack always manages to find one that I’ve missed (and therefore, haven’t expressly forbidden).

Re: coats. I have a theory about this from living in DC where it never truly gets cold enough for jackets, except for select breeds. Many people I meet who have dogs in jackets have never had a dog before and from seeing other dogs with jackets, assume it’s appropriate. They also tend to overidentify with their dogs, assuming if they’re cold, their dog must be also.

And I am also surprised at how often people don’t pay attention to their dogs when walking them. Though, it’s difficult for me to gauge how I would be if I didn’t have a fearful dog. I found your work and that of so many others while trying to work through her issues and she’s completely changed how I view dogs.

How timely! Love this post. As a dog trainer, I just switched from big-box group training to private training that focuses in on clients who live in high rises in Charlotte, NC. We aren’t quite the city that NY is, but it can definitely feel like a bit city for those dogs that live in our uptown – that’s a Charlotte thing – everyone else’s downtown is our uptown.

In addition to your list, I would include good stairs and elevator manners. I ended up living in one of our high rises for a few months and that’s what inspired me to want to help pet parents in a similar situation. It isn’t easy being a dog sharing living space with 50 other floors of people and dogs.

Couple of tricks that helped me out and I’m bringing to my clients? I taught my own dogs to “corner” in an elevator. They walk straight into the corner of an elevator and turn around facing the front with their butt up against the wall. This protects their tail and keeps them from being a nuisance to elevator patrons. It helps dogs that might find elevators overwhelming – of which I have one. And it also helps dogs that think elevators are full of trapped people who only want to pet them – I have one of those, too.

If you have a walk-up situation, you need good control on stairs including a nice steady gait. Lots of dogs love to bolt up and especially down the stairs but that just isn’t safe for the humans. I’ll be following the thread for others opinions and will definitely be checking out those books.

Even when I lived in New York City and especially in the dog friendly city of Paris, my eyes were always on my dachshund…. And so were everyone else’s it seemed. Couldn’t go a block without someone delighting in his cuteness. Not sure it would happen with my much bigger dogs… But I certainly cannot keep my eyes off them. They are the apples of my eye! Happily, I now live in suburbia 😉

Great article! We’ve lived in Minneapolis, a tiny country town in Minnesota, and finally in a medium-sized college town in Mississippi during the span of our pup’s two years. Most of the behaviors you listed are on our list–wait, make eye contact, leave it, switch sides at a heel, etc. The one you didn’t list that we use all the time (and especially used in the city) is the command “curb!” where Chara stays on the curb and doesn’t step off onto the street, or if we’re in the street, immediately jumps onto the curb. It provides us a lot of peace-of-mind to know that with a word, she’ll quickly get herself to a safe space.

The place where we’ve most needed all of those behaviors (and where we most need to pay attention to what Chara is doing), is in the college town. We frequently walk onto campus–aka Chara heaven, due to the large quantity of pizza crusts and adoring humans–and having her make eye contact has gotten us past many a person she would’ve jumped on, and many a pizza crust she would’ve gobbled up.

That being said, I’ve found that I am entirely focused on Chara when it’s just me and her, even with a ton of people around us and in a city setting. But if I’m walking with someone else–a friend or my fiancé–I pay far less attention to her, and as a result she snatches way more food off the street and manages to get her paws on poor passersby. So I’d say it’s a fair assumption that behavioral issues suffer more when we aren’t paying direct attention to our dogs–at least in me and Chara’s case.

I, too, was recently in NYC for a few days (1/12-1/16) and found myself watching people with their dogs. I hardly saw any large dogs outside of Central Park, where I still only saw a few. Most people had small dogs (in coats). Makes sense, I guess, with the tight quarters of the city. In Midtown, most of the dogs seemed comfortable in their surroundings, and I remember noticing how they were all able to pass other dogs without incident. However, on the Lower West Side, I saw a few more larger dogs, more environmentally stressed dogs, and more dog-dog reactivity.

And, my goodness. Those all-concrete “dog runs” for off-leash dog-dog interaction. Not sure I could ever get used to that! (Not that I visit the grassy dog parks here in Los Angeles, but…)

My other thought re the life of a city dog … Are cab drivers dog friendly? In a city of public transportation, how does one get their dog to the vet?!!? I can see walking for check-ups, but if he’s sick or injured…

P.S. I think whether or not the owner looks at/watches the dog on the walk is less of a regional thing and more of a relationship thing. Many people have dogs … because they have the spouse, the kids, the house and the yard … so they should also have a dog. And for many, the dog is more of an accessory than a companion. Not that they love the dog any less… Some people don’t realize what is possible in terms of the bonded relationship with a dog. Some people recognize it others, but aren’t interested in investing the work it takes to get that themselves.

So, for many, walking the dog is a “chore” that needs to be marked off the “to do” list. Those people are often multi-tasking on their phones while the dog does his own thing. Then, for some of us, the walk is more of a shared experience where we want to pay attention to the dog and experience the walk together.

While my city isn’t dense like NYC, it’s leash-only and traffic-heavy and I’ve had to come up with some pretty elaborate rituals to handle my dog. From a quality-of-life perspective, I’m always trying to improvise games to keep him stimulated, so I’ll integrate some agility (jumping on benches, walking on narrow parking medians, etc.) and do goofy things like sticking soft treats on trees that he has to jump to reach. Whenever I see footage of urban dogs walking in rigid formation it always makes me sad, for while I know dense urban areas require better control, surely there’s a way for the dogs to have some fun, right? This is supposed to be a high point of their day.

We live in an semi-urban environment near the beach. However, there is a walkway along the beach where on a weekend morning, you might easily encounter upwards of 40 different dogs and 100 people. For the most part, our Rottie will move through the crowd easily and if another owner is amenable, we will stop for a greeting or two with other dogs, but obviously we cannot stop for one and all. One command we have in our arsenal is “Hi and Bye”. This basically means, it’s okay to turn your head and get a quick sniff of a passing dog but then it’s time to move on. It’s a great command to add to the list above. The real key to urban walking is constant vigilance and good, solid desensitization work for things such as runners, cyclists, skateboarders, jumpy kids making sudden movements and whatever else. I can’t abide people talking on their phones while walking the dog. It’s dangerous and c’mon, why did u get a dog if you can’t afford it 30-60 minutes of your attention. Grrrr.

As for not watching my dog less when walking her in the ‘hood than when taking her to the open space areas: True – as I am always scanning the environment – though that does include the dog – for signs of potential trouble. Are there any cracked windows in the cars parked next to the sidewalk? How about that pick-up truck driving towards us with the dog in the back? Are the local dogs and cats outside in their yards? How about that toddler coming straight towards us?

That way we rarely get into tight situations and the hound enjoys these strolls immensely.

I will have to pay attention to how much I look at my dog on walks but the reason I may not look at her is that I am scanning the environment for possible stressors/things that may make her react (which is, by the way, what she is doing). She is much better than she used to be but transitions are difficult for her and situations change quite quickly in a city. It helps if I can see if someone is going to move quickly from behind a car or open a door to leave a restaurant.

Most of the time, if I see a person on the phone walking their dog, (these dogs are also on flexi-leads a lot of the time, I don’t know why) I give them a wide berth and bring my dog to the side of the sidewalk and start to feed. I used to do this every time I saw another dog and had some fabulous interactions because a number of people saw what I was doing and moved their dog away or let me know that their dog was friendly and if I wanted to work on a greeting, their dog would be a good candidate. I rarely took them up on their offer but very much appreciated it.

I have two behaviors that I find necessary in the city: Hold – which is a refined sit behavior that means “sit down as quickly as possible without moving forward and stay there until you are released.” This is quite useful for crossing streets and could be a life-saving behavior. Using the curb as a cue for sitting is great but I found that sometimes I needed to have her stop from walking in the path of a bike or something else coming across the sidewalk.

The other is to teach the dog to go to the other side of you. This can get the dog out of the way of people and other dogs and it is also and easy way of getting a dog that likes to trail behind you to walk on the same side that you are holding the leash so the leash isn’t cutting across the back of your legs. I call this “on my right” and “on my left” although I am well aware that my dog doesn’t know her left and her right (still need to teach her that) but in addition to being a helpful behavior, it is super impressive in Petco.

Hi, I live in nyc and have a long-haired chihuahua. I grew up in the country so it was a little daunting to get a dog this small (6.5 lbs) when I moved to nyc, but I knew I wanted a dog that I could carry easily on public transit. Our dog often wears a coat when it is not that cold out (-and I know he can tolerate the cold well, since we spent time last winter in Quebec City and he loved it!-), but because he is so short, he picks up all of the muck, especially road salt, on his fur, and wearing a jacket that covers his belly and sides really helps mitigate this problem. I do often talk on the phone while I walk my dog, (though it depends where), but I always have my eye on him, or even more frequently, eyes focused just ahead of us, negotiating our spatial relationship to passing children, bikes, skateboards, delivery men going the wrong way, other dogs, suddenly opening car doors, suddenly opening building doors, dogs or people emerging quickly around blind corners, what weird substance is leaking out of the neighbor’s garbage bags on the street, and, in our neighborhood, looking out for lurking skunks as well as rats! When I walk, I make frequent eye contact with others on the street, but I think that one variable is whether one is walking in a more residential neighborhood versus walking in a commercial district, where it would be less common to make eye contact. Even in Manhattan, there is a lot of variation in human behavior and social customs even within small neighborhoods, especially with regard to human-with-dog interactions. We find “wait” our most useful and most used command, since it covers a multitude of urban situations!

Oh how i loved this post! I am also a person, becoming a certified trainer, who loves, loves, loves simply watching dogs. All the time! I have logged hundreds of hours of it. I live in a small town on an island. Sort of both rural and urban at the same time. When i am walking with my dog my eyes are on her or scanning the environment for things she might react to, especially loose dogs! The bane of our existence. Most people here, get out of the car, open the back door to let the dog or dogs out, and then begin to walk away usually talking on the phone. They have zero idea what their dogs are doing and are definitely NOT picking up poop since they aren’t even seeing it happen. And for sure they don’t see me with my dog waiting patiently at a distance for their dogs to move on so that we can continue without being approached. I often call out to ask them to please leash their dogs and sometimes they do, often they cannot because they have no recall. Sometimes they ignore me. I ALWAYS call out to the ones whose dog just pooped and ask them if they need a bag to pick that up while proffering one for them. I have actually had people say no to that! They really could care less that their dog just pooped and have every intention of walking away despite peer pressure. Amazing creatures we are. When i am in the big city my sister often remarks at how hyper aware i am of every other dog in our vicinity. This is because my dog still does not trust other dogs and we are working so hard on it and i am not willing to have a slip up and begin again. I can see a loose dog a mile away and i guarantee my dog can too. I envy the people who just don’t have to care on one hand, but i also feel sorry for them for all that they are missing about having dogs in our lives. All the hours i have logged watching my dog and other peoples dogs is the reason i have become a trainer and the reason i am obsessed with watching more dogs. Nothing is more interesting in my book!!!

Gosh I forgot the number one city centric command! Bag! For cabs and train rides we use a canvas Love Thy Beast / Lands End style tote with a top zip and yoke opening for his head. When the bag is placed in front of our dog (opening yoke away from the pup) he steps in a sits down for us to clip him in and zip up the bag.

Hmm, interesting topics. One thing I will note is that busy city walking is a totally different skill than walking a dog on a quiet street, even if the street in question is in a big city. I’ve done a fair bit of all types of walking, urban, suburban, off leash, and one style of eye contact simply won’t serve in all three contexts. When walking the dogs in a busy place, it is vitally important that they do heel and it may not be practical to spend much time looking directly at them because doing so drastically increases your chances of crashing into someone or something ahead.

It’s also important sidewalk etiquette to keep your dog very close and out of the way of people who might be frightened, uncomfortable, or apt to trip over dog or leash. Is this an optimal walking experience for most dogs? I’d say no, but neither is it necessarily as bad as we humans might think. I honestly don’t know that eye contact is as important to my dogs as it is to me. Attention certainly is, but even when Otis (we’d moved to the burbs before Sandy so her urban walks have been rarer) and I bustled along through a crowded sidewalk, I always felt connected to him. I might have been looking ahead, choosing a path and trusting him to remain beside me, but I certainly was aware of him- after all, he was so close, often directly touching (one of the perks of a tall dog is that I can rest my hand on his back as we walk) I could feel any hesitation or spot any unusual movement from my peripheral vision.

What I was asking of him-to stick very close to me- was a skill and a chore, to some extent, but it was also a mental challenge and a valuable addition to a repertoire of abilities that allow him to go with me almost anywhere.

Really crowded walks (where the dogs are expected to heel) are always a means to an end for me- we’re going somewhere to do something fun for them. I do feel badly for city dogs who have to do the work of this kind of walking without the reward of relaxation at the end of it. I also feel badly for dogs who just aren’t wired to cope with such a stimulating environment, and I especially dislike the practice of walking (at all) while distracted by cell phones but I’m not sure that ‘looking at’ always equates to ‘paying attention to’ and I’m fairly certain that dogs can get a hit of accomplishment and companionable good feeling from standing beside a person and moving together through an obstacle-ridden landscape.

I’d also point out that the worst behavior I’ve personally observed in leashed dogs I’ve seen in suburban dogs (barking, lunging, choking themselves blue), whose owners do probably look directly at them more and certainly give them more freedom. (Enough rope to hang themselves comes literally to mind in the case of a few former neighbors). I almost never saw anything like that when I walked in the city (much smaller than NYC, but still a city.)

Finally, on the topic of coats- they’re quite common here but mostly among the tiny dogs or the outdoorsy set who truly do go out in all weather. We bought one for Otis when he was terribly underweight and mangy (even now, his coat is pretty much the texture of an eyebrow- not much use in any kind of weather) and he took to it so readily and liked it so well we’ve never stopped. He wears it when the Mercury dips below 15 F or so, or when it’s below 40 F and raining hard. We got one for Sandy mostly because she hates the rain but she loves hers when it’s bitter too, and stays appreciably warmer (her start temp is 10F, though), so on it goes.

Interestingly, while I know many dogs who wear coats, I’ve never known any owners who desensitized their dogs to them. They (I should say we) all just strapped them on and went outside and that was that. I wonder if this has more to do with the population (off leash no fence dog park dogs- probably better trained and less highly strung than average) or with the environment (high reward off leash dog park, truly miserable weather). A mystery!

I love the question about coats. I’ve been wondering about this recently — just how effective are they are for warmth? Has anybody tried to actually figure that out? And, if they *are* effective, do they interfere with the way the dog’s own heating and air conditioning system works? We have a pibble with a very neked belly (sic). She shivers terribly in the cold. Is it over identifying with her to think she *is* cold and needs a coat? She has a couple options (I like the thick fleece versions best.) Fashion statements hers are not. I *think* she shivers less when starting a day in the 30s (or below,) and in our most recent snow blizzard the coat certainly kept her dryer than she would have been without. She mostly doesn’t seem to mind the coat but she does on occasion ruuuubbbbbbb herself up against the nearby wall, or under the nearest truck, or along the closest huge boulder to seemingly try to get it off. Most of the time, though, she seems unperturbed by it and is always willing to get into it. When she’s having a good run in the woods with her best buds, we sometimes take it off but by that point she’s clearly warmed up, or at least, she’s not shivering. Still, I wonder, are we wasting our money or are we making her more comfortable?

On watching dogs, though we live in the city, we don’t live in the very urban part. Our area of city streets is more old suburban in feel and when walking the streets, we’re always watching her because she’s so darn cute as she reads The Morning Pee Post, and we need to be aware of who she is actually seeing and might start pulling towards and well, she’s still not entirely mastered loose leash walking so she still takes a lot of attention. We fortunately live near some very big woods and she’s there almost daily off leash. There, too, we watch her, though. It’s fun to see her bounce along the trail, dash off every now and again to follow a scent or a sound and it’s just good to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t disappear in a pile of fresh dog poo or drink a lot of standing water. Plus, truth be told, she is a fine looking dog with the cutest butt and a tail that doesn’t stop wagging when she’s enjoying the great outdoors so how could we not want to keep our eye on her?

I live in a wooded part of Portland, OR, but have walked my dogs downtown a few times a year in the past. While I don’t feel as if my toolbox of basic commands changes between the two places, the intensity and urgency with which I issue those commands does. If I am slow or half-hearted about instructing my dogs to “leave it” in my neighborhood, the worst that happens is they might quickly snap up an apple core that some kid discarded. If I’m distracted downtown, though, the possibilities for really disgusting garbage ingestion seem endless. I’m much more insistent and unequivocal about telling them to “WAIT” at a busy street corner downtown than telling them “wait, I have to tie my shoe” at home. As one might expect, they are far more happy and relaxed in our neighborhood, and our visits downtown are infrequent these days.

I’m in Minnesota, so I bundle my dog up in a jacket when we get subzero temperatures and will be out for longer than a quick potty break. She also wears a jacket at the dog park if there is snow (even if it’s above zero), because the jacket fully covers her belly and keeps the snow from balling up on her fur. After that happened once (plus the ice balls stuck on her paws), and I had a very unhappy dog on my hands, we started the coat + paw wax ritual for the dog park and she’s been much happier. I do see other dogs at the dog park or out and about who are wearing coats in “warm” winter weather (20’s-30’s F), and many of them probably don’t *need* coats. But they don’t seem bothered by the coat, and I have no idea on their age or medical conditions either. When I lived in Philly and saw dogs in coats in 50 F weather, on the other hand…that seemed ridiculous.

I have also noticed that, in my suburban neighborhood, people don’t look at their dogs. They walk straight ahead, and the dog either meanders along with them or is all over the place on a flexi leash (ugh). Owner never seems to talk to them, whether to correct, give commands, or just talk. I, on the other hand, talk to my dog all the time, whether to give commands, correct her positioning or behavior, or just to tell her what a nice stick she found and is now proudly carrying down the sidewalk. My dog is a service dog in training, so I am probably a little more focused on her than the average dog owner, but I am still amazed at how little everyone else seems to look at or talk to their dog. Then again, I’m sure the other dog owners think I’m odd when I’m having a conversation with my dog and stand for minutes at a time next to a snow drift in frigid weather so my dog can have a proper sniff…

I live in a suburb and walk my dog every morning. I enjoy watching him and his reactions. We often see the same people out walking, with or without a dog, and almost all of them make eye contact or shout out a “g’morning.”

We don’t usually get that cold in the Pacific NW, but I see a fair amount of shorthaired dogs wearing coats. Sometimes longer-haired dogs are wearing coats so their owners have less drying off to do after a walk in the rain that is a near-constant in the winter. One of my Aussies sometimes sheds out in the winter. When she does I may put a coat on her for colder, rainy days. Her coat is a hand-me-down from my first Aussie who only needed it when she was 15 and 16 years old.

I live in London, UK. Lucky in that we have large spaces for off lead dogs. On lead though, I think lots of dogs look either bored or stressed. My own dog, an outgoing slightly bonkers Labrador, loves the city though and he has developed a range of cute looks and gestures to get people to stop and pet him! He can even get people on the tube to give him attention. So he breaks through the ‘no eye contact’ much better than humans. I do not think he’d cope so well with the need to be contained and controlled on lead so much without his freedom to be off lead a fair bit. My top cue is his ability to sniff along on a 2m lead without pulling but return ‘close’ immediately I ask him to do so, regardless of the temptation on offer. This gives him masses more freedom on lead compared to having to walk at heel.

What an interesting topic! I follow the Dogist on Tumblr and have noticed all the NYC dogs with coats. We live in a small (5,000) town and only the very small dogs wear coats in our cold Canadian winters. We do have a coat for our Bullmastiff, but she only wears it (under protest) when it’s -25 or colder – which it hasn’t yet been this winter. I have noticed several of the city dogs on the Dogist being described as very nervous, fearful – and have imagined what our noise aversive doodle Daisy would be like in such a setting. She finds even our small downtown overstimulating, so we don’t take her there, despite valiant attempts when she was a puppy. I think it must be very challenging to provide a good life for an active breed in the center of a large city – training and socialization would be vital.

I have to say that I see people walking their dog while glued to a phone here in the country as well – I feel sorry for them missing so much of what makes our walks pleasurable. My two are country and small town dogs – they visit our local market town often enough to know about staying close on a loose leash, letting people by, and avoiding stepping off the pavement even when it is busy, but most proper walks are off leash well away from traffic. And eye contact, greetings, conversations, etc are the norm in all the areas we visit – you have reminded me why I avoid big cities these days. I reckon I average at least three conversations a day while dog walking – there is not much chance of suffering from a lack of human contact when out with friendly dogs in rural Lancashire!

I loved Melissa’s book and passed it on to friends who are considering getting a dog in the near future. In my opinion this, along with some other books, is a must read for every first time dog owner living in an urban area.

With regards to this very valuable post and Trish’s questions: Paying attention to my city dog and rewarding him for whenever he makes eye contact with is very import for our relationship. After all, I ask him to pay attention to me, so it’s only fair to pay attention and acknowledge that he’s “talking” to me when we’re out and about. My dog is excellent with his body language and I can, in most cases, easily identify what’s going on with him: scared of the bus (look there’s a shower of treats coming down), about to react to that dog he doesn’t get a long with in front of us (let’s get on the other side of the road), that street he really does not want walk on because too much traffic (let’s keep walking elsewhere until things calm down). The list is endless and if I had to write down all the things he’d been communicating in the 20 minutes we’re out, it would be probably 3 pages long. I’m not a dog expert but I am amazed by how many dog owners around me say things like “he doesn’t listen” when in fact that very person has not listened to her dog for the entire time we had a chat about her dog. I’d also like to add, that I never, ever leave the house without treats. Why is it that so many dog owners do not reward their dogs for good behavior when they are on walks (with treats, praise or games)? This is my list: name/attention, heel, recall, sit, stay (the latter two I find very useful when a large crowd tries to pass by).

I am loving the comment from readers with experience in a vast range of environments. A few comments to add to this discussion: One, regarding coats on dogs. Most of my experience with coats on dogs relates to Thundershirts, or T-shirts put on dogs in hopes of relaxing them. A few dogs (one of mine included), went still when the shirt was first put on (some might say the dog was relaxed, I’d say it was frozen), but then seemed to relax. My Pippy Tay (severe thunder phobia, cured after two seasons) didn’t move for a good 3-4 minutes, then went to sleep. Not sure if she was simply “relaxed,” but she wasn’t panting and panicking. But I digress… what I wanted to add was that in general dogs don’t seem to mind coats all that much. If you look at the work of Temple Grandin and the theory behind Thundershirts, they well might relax dogs. I know that people usually put coats on dogs for warmth (and yes, I think coats can help dogs stay warm in very cold weather, especially if the belly is covered), but I suspect that most dogs don’t mind them much. And thanks for the comment about using a coat to keep road grime off your dog’s belly. That’s another thing I never would have thought of, living in the country as I do.

I’m also interested that several of you repeated Melissa’s suggestion that dogs need to be able to walk on both sides of you. That’s another very “city specific” cue. I can’t think when I have ever needed one of my dogs to switch from one side to the other (although I’m training Willie to heel on the right in case I ever do free style :-)).

And the comments reminded me that I too don’t actually keep my eyes laser focused on my dogs every second. I too scan the environment constantly, looking for other dogs, potential trouble spots or dangers. However, I know where my dogs are at every moment, and often have my attention split between a block ahead and the dog two feet to my side, sniffing the scents around a light post. So thanks for the amendment–watch your dogs all the time, and scan the environment all the time too. No wonder walks can be as mentally stimulating for people as they can for dogs!

As a city dog owner in New Orleans, LA, I want to emphasize how important the lead or leash is to city and suburban dog walking. The correct use of a leash secures the safety of dogs and people. Busy environments are made up of so many unpredictable elements, including fast-moving vehicles, other not-so-friendly animals, and many, many people. And some of those people may be scared of your dog (and it is not up to you to help them overcome their fears). Most cities have a leash law, and pet-friendly cities often have off-leash dog parks where Fido can get his runs in. Nevertheless, I have seen many city dwellers ignore the leash law and misuse off-leash parks. And I have seen harm come from this carelessness. Leashes save lives in the city. Off-leash training is wonderful, and essential in the case of a leash failing, but a city dog should be comfortable walking on a leash, and city dwellers who have dogs, even “perfectly” trained dogs, should obey the law for the sake of everyone’s safety and out of respect for others. After all, the ability to show respect and consideration for others should be the #1 skill city dogs and their owners aim to master.

At Sara from Minneapolis, *waves hi* I live in St. Paul but work in Minneapolis. I have always needed, because of where I work, a dog that is good with handling the city. When we do our pre-training interview, we’re asked questions like, where do you work? Is the environment urban or country? Some dogs are given to handlers that live in the country or in suburban areas and they adapt just fine. Others, like my dogs, don’t mind the city. What I’ve always noticed about each of my dogs was how much they loved working in down town Minneapolis. I loved working with them there as well. Yup, there are lots of stimulating things for them. There are lots more people and in the summer there’s the big farmers market. There’s music being played outside and tons of buses and cars and all I can usually feel from down the leash and harness handle is a focused joy. It’s in working in these busy areas that I feel our bond as a team most. For example, Seamus is paying attention to things I can’t see and I’m paying attention to all the rest, but yet we keep a constant read on each other. this is the time I feel like I’m flying and it even happens on campus where I work. Though it is a wonderful feeling, I know that it is a lot of work for my dog and so I wish I had the ability to take him to a dog park so he could have some down-time with other dogs. Alas, I can’t. I don’t trust other dog owners enough to be certain my dog wouldn’t be attacked by another dog, unless I’m with a group of fellow guide dog handlers that I know. My advice for living in a city with my dog is, lots of play time with me when we come home and I walk my dog with my husband, so he can just have a walk and I don’t need him to work for me. We live in a quiet neighborhood in St. Paul so walks are fun for him.

I live in a suburb — one of those areas with a fair amount of car traffic and few sidewalks. I’m a dog nerd, so I normally give my dog my full attention while out and about While walking, my most frequently used cues mirror yours for the most part – recall, stay on cue, leave it. Though one that I use very frequently that you didn’t mention is “circle”, which means for my dog to pass behind me and walk on my other side. I don’t often need to leash my dog in my neighbourhood – she walks at heel when asked, and runs ahead when granted permission to do so, so being able to call her back and switch sides on verbal means that I can keep a respectful distance between my dog and other folks out for a walk or run without fiddling with a leash.

I have had interesting experiences regarding “city” (well sububs really) versus more rural dogs. When I lived in a suburb of NYC I actually had a much easier time walking my dogs as all the dogs we encountered were on leash and didn’t really react to seeing me out with my dogs. When we moved to a more rural setting I have been charged multiple times by loose dogs who were just let out leash on their owners property and freely roam around. My poor girl has been attacked 4 different times by dogs in our neighborhood who were either just let loose or broke through an electric fence. I have friends who also have this experience in more rural type settings. It has gotten to the point that I no longer walk my dogs around my lake for fear of being charged at and attacked. Yet I am the one blamed by the other owners- me with my dogs on a 6 foot leash walking in the street.

My experience is “city” dogs or dogs in more crowded type areas are better trained in certain areas (or at least leash laws are followed better) and more used to seeing other dogs about. Other’s experiences may vary.

Interesting discussion and I need some time to read through all the comments.

Regarding coats: I think they can work both ways. With a thin-coated dog, they probably help. But my fear with a heavy-coated dog is they press down on the dog’s natural coat, thereby reducing the “loft” and natural insulating capability. My dogs have so much undercoat that snow literally does not melt on their backs, not even a little. So they come in dry from snowstorms and as long as I sweep any snow off of them when they come in, before it melts, they stay dry. Their bellies also stay dry if they are out in fresh snow, but will get wet going through slop. They do not have nor need coats, but they do have reflective vests for walking in the dark. My general rule is that if it is very cold or very wet, I do NOT put the vest on with the idea that it presses down their coat and makes them colder.

Regarding heeling on both sides: Maddie was always hard to train and so I settled on just a general “heel” with her. Jack knows “heel” (on the left) and “right side”(heeling on the right). Walking two dogs at once, I find it essential that I have a way to keep them both close to me but not always on the same side.

I live in a smallish city so I don’t have too much experience with big-city dogs. I have noticed, though, a difference between those who regularly take their dogs to the several-hundred-acre partly wooded park near us, and those who don’t. Those who frequent the park often have their dogs off leash but under voice control. They DO watch their dogs a lot more. Their dogs, in general, have more chances to take part in self-directed activity and seem to be more practiced at making judgments. And they seem more aware of their dogs’ shortcomings and intervene before a problem erupts. Those who only ever walk on-leash (or go to fenced dog-parks) are more likely to not notice if their dogs are posturing aggressively or looking fearful and therefore either don’t intervene at all, or wait til the dog is over threshold and hard to bring back under control.

So I wonder sometimes if it’s that the off-leash dogs come from a pre-selected group of more experienced owners and more confident, stable dogs, or if the opposite is true— the dogs that were allowed more freedom from the beginning are more likely to handle more situations well, and tend to teach owners to always watch out for things in the environment that might matter to their dogs. I suspect both are true to some extent, but wonder how much is nature and how much is nurture? Incidentally, every time we’ve been charged by a dog, it was a leashed dog who got loose.

Hi, For the last 20 years I have lived with 2 Scottish terriers, during the week in Manhattan; weekends in the CT country. In my city neighborhood there is the occasional dog that wears more sweaters than I will ever own, but for the most part sweaters/jackets come on only when it is cold and by short-haired/single-coated dogs. I have always stripped my Scotties (because all were/are shown in conformation), and since they have true, double coats, they do not need to wear jackets unless the temperature goes below 3 F. However, I do put jackets on them when we get a heavy snowfall (like this past weekend) and the sidewalks are a slushy mess with chemicals, so there is less clean-up of their bellies. I’m not sure what you meant by owners not looking at their dogs. I cannot walk down the street without being on the lookout for chemicals (in the winter), dangerous trash, and clueless pedestrians. (I’ve had children in strollers grab my dog’s tail as they were wheeled by us.) My dogs are short and smallish, and I live in a predominantly brownstone neighborhood with narrow sidewalks, and many pedestrians make little effort to avoid us, which is why I then move us into a single file on these narrow sidewalks, and try to use the wide sidewalks of Park Avenue as much as possible. (A friend has 2 Dobermans; they are a cinch to walk: people move sometimes bolt out of our way, probably thinking they are some kind of demon dog.) My dogs, and most of my friends’ dogs, know and respond to important cues: leave it, wait, stop, and others. And it doesn’t take long for these to sink in. I have run into the occasional clueless owner who doesn’t understand or appreciate what is at the end of their leash, but they are rare. I agree with Melissa about “heel”: not for exercise. It is important for the city walks to be fun exercise, with a minimum of rules. Since I have terriers, I would never ever trust them off-leash on public property; I could never be 100 percent certain that they would come or leave it when instructed to.

@ Lisa H. On the topic of whether dog coats are actually warm- I’d say it depends. If a dog has a fluffy double coat, they are probably already so well insulated that a light jacket that covers mostly the back probably doesn’t make much difference.

A thin-coated dog who shows signs of discomfort in cold or wet weather (I swear Otis’ hair actually wicks water TO his skin) will benefit from any additional wind and weatherproofing (even just a light layer over their backs) but the best protection from extreme cold comes from a coat that covers the chest and belly. Because my dogs are rain-haters, I have two sets of coats for them. The first is a lighter weatherproof layer that covers their backs with minimal belly coverage to protect from rain without overheating (they’re both tall enough that their bellies don’t get very wet), and the second set I refer to as our “single digit”(F) gear and it covers their chests and bellies as well.

In both cases, the dogs’ coats look pretty much like horse blankets (I do find it funny that nobody bats an eye at a thousand pound horse in a blanket, but large shorthaired dogs in coats that are functionally the same thing are often given the side-eye) and nothing at all like human clothing, even if they do cut rather stylish figures- I chalk it all up to their natural good looks.

Both my dogs show less discomfort in bad weather when they wear their coats- they will choose (they are both very effective at communicating that they’d like to go back if they’re having an unhappy time) to stay out longer and walk further and as long as it stays above 0 F, it seems to take much longer for the dreaded painful paw-freeze to set in. Pouring rain will eventually discourage them both, but without a coat on, fat chance of getting either Sandy or Otis to poop before clamoring to get back inside. The coats buy us a bit of enjoyable time that we wouldn’t otherwise have.

Live in rural area, have dogs on leash and my eyes on them all the time, well, almost all the time. It’s either that or end up in a ditch. Spot has been known to jump 90 degrees sideways while running downhill with me (canicrossing) and catch a mouse….. So even though my environmental scanner is on, theirs is on too (as my friend commented ‘you can almost hear him bleep-) and vastly superior.

I think it would not be fair on them in a city. In fact, it was the only time Spot walked behind me, on holiday in Oslo….

Short note on telephone and dog; I’m on call every three weeks for the whole week, I don’t have to go back to the hospital bit have to be able to do telephone consultations (advice on antibiotics) . I have on occasion asked one of my colleague docters to wait a moment ‘because I have to get a dog out of a ditch/rabbit hole/kitchen; they start misbehaving as soon as I am answering the phone because they now I am not paying attention …

Haven’t finished reading all the comments yet, but wanted to weigh in before I am forced to do some work.

I lived in Manhattan for 26 years, the last 10 with a large dog. Owning a dog when you are young and enjoying the nightlife in the city is probably not a good idea, so I waited until I was older and happy to come straight home after work. People would often ask me about having a dog in the city and I would say that I thought dogs were better socialized in the city than in the burbs. Now that I live in the burbs myself, I still think this is true (this is a very generalized observation and, as usual, exceptions abound).

The dogs in the suburbs are easily placed in the backyard for hours. Their owners often have children and the people in the house live the typical crazy life that parents do these days (soccer games, karate lessons, play dates). The dogs are loved and cared for, but not paid much attention otherwise. In the city, you are forced to pay attention to your dog. You cannot just put them out in the yard. If they are home all day while you work, you have got to get them a dog walker which is already better than the suburbs dogs usually get. I remember growing up in the suburbs, I don’t think I ever took my dogs out for walks. I don’t even remember seeing a leash unless we had to take them to the vet. Most people I know in the suburbs now (many of them my neighbors), don’t walk their dogs at all.

Yes, there are reactive dogs in the city, but for the most part, it’s a pain in the neck to have a reactive dog on the streets of NY. Whereas in the suburbs, you can choose to manage that problem and keep your dog away from other dogs, again that is not an option in the city where all sidewalks are populated with leashed dogs. Take a look at that picture you posted of the group of dogs walking together…peacefully.

Anyway, to your point about paying attention to them while they are walking: Honestly, 90% of the time when I was walking my dog on the streets of the Upper West Side, I was doing it for bathroom purposes. It was rarely a leisure walk, it had a very specific purpose. And usually I had very little time. It was either before I went to sleep or before I went to work. So, like other people are saying, I was paying attention to multiple things that needed paying attention to on the busy streets (people, dogs, cars) but I was also on a mission to get my dog to relieve herself so I didn’t have to feel guilty about keeping her in the apt after I got home. It’s also why I think you see more people pulling their dogs along on the streets of a city. I became an expert at knowing the difference between a “pee sniff” and a “fun sniff”. If it was the latter and if it was raining or freezing or if I was late for work, then I’m pulling my dog to move along. The most important cue for a city dweller is “go pee pee” in my opinion. Owning a dog in the city means about half the time you are thinking of your dog, you are calculating when did she last go and when will she have to go again.

Having said that, I made sure to take my dog Central Park for off leash walks (the hours they were allowed, which included 2-3 hours on weekend early mornings) or to dog parks when I could find one that I liked. I also often made “play dates” with fellow dogs or sometimes even rented a car to go on hikes outside of the city. I also took agility classes in the city for years and would travel to trials on the weekend.

Just this morning, walking to to my office (which is near the park) from Grand Central, I saw 4 large dogs being walked home from a morning out in Central Park. They were exhausted, happy and their owners had that look of despair that comes from having to go home, get dressed and go to work. I remember those walks home from the park. One yellow lab happily pranced along in front of his owner, with a toy, rubber peace sign hanging out of his mouth. I had to smile.

To answer the questions about taxis (if someone hasn’t already), there were 2 ways I could get a cab. One was to hide the dog behind my legs and wave down a cab and then ask if they would take a well behaved, clean dog in their cab. Or I stood with my dog next to me and just waited for a cab to pull over that would take a dog. I honestly can say I never had a problem, it just meant waiting a little longer than you would if you didn’t have a dog with you. Nowadays with other options like Uber, etc, it might even be easier.

Hope the sun shines in Wisconsin soon. Since the big blizzard here, it’s been relatively warm and sunny. So maybe when you get snow, you’ll get some sun too.

Just dropping in to say that even when I am walking in a populated area, my eyes are generally on my dogs. In fact, I might be guilty of bumping into a few people because I have been watching my dogs. Whether this is something I developed because growing up I was walking dogs in the country and later most of my dog walks were “training walks” to work on casual heeling and other obedience exercises, I’m not sure. Had I not recently been to NYC myself, I wouldn’t be able to truly grasp the almost obnoxious level of distraction that city creates for dog walkers just in terms of not walking into something.

Great read, though.

Btw: my mid-size town dwelling dogs know Heel, Down (as in lie-down from a standing or moving position), a solid recall, and leave it. Granted, my Beagle does not always choose “Leave it” when dog poo is involved. You win some…

Hi , really enjoy your blog and hearing about your life and ‘family’, great fun to read for a suburban dog owner in Victoria, Australia! This is a city where we live but the streets are very quiet, so some distractions but not many on our walks. Its mostly too warm for coats for my dogs here, but my very elderly short haired retriever does get a snug woolly lined coat for winter sleeping. On lead walks our dog interactions are mostly ‘name’ for attention, and ‘leave it’, I also talk softly to my dogs as I lead walk, my young wheaten terrier needs lots of help presently to keep her engaged with me (she is very sociable). Sniffing and loose lead wandering always feature high on our walk, although we also practice ‘heel’ and paying attention. As it is a quiet suburban area we do encounter a lot of dogs off lead which is challenging at times.

When we were living in an apartment in a high-density ‘suburban’ neighbourhood I taught my pup “Inclement weather”. It is a ‘building rule’ that dogs must enter through the garage instead of the main lobby on rainy days. I like “left” and “right” too. We live in Vancouver, BC where it rains a lot in the winter. A towel by all our outside doors is standard. Sometimes we go out with a backpack which has a handle. The handle is useful in case some adventurous dog decides to jump into a lake that has poor shoreline access! The backpack carries his long line and ball for fetch. I find I’m engaged with my dog when we go for a walk. I watch him but I also love to look out for nature, views and, at night, the stars in the sky. I have seen my dog observe airplanes but not quite convinced he joins in my enthusiasm for astronomy!

I used to live in a city and now live in a more rural area and I have observed the opposite of what you did – in the city, most people did pay attention to their dogs but here most people have no idea what the dog is doing.

One of the commands my dogs learned in the city, along with everything on your list, was to walk directly in front of me when we were in crowded situations. It made it easier for me to police the dog and the people around him/her and made it easier to weave through.

Regarding coats – my whippet mix wears a coat in the winter, but with virtually no fat and no coat, she really does need it. I always give her the option, though, by holding it out to her – if she sticks her head through, she wears it; if she ignores the coat, she goes without. Seems to work well. I do think, though, that for some people, it is just a fashion thing.

Re coats: Nina wears a coat if we’re walking & it’s approx 10F or below, or, (more likely), if she has to wait a long time in a cold car. She is about 60lbs, but has little undercoat, & not much body fat. I read years ago–sorry, can’t remember the source–that one could judge a dog’s comfort level in the cold by feeling the ears; if ears were cold the rest of the dog probably was also. My Keeshond, Cobie, who had a thick double coat, always had warm ears, even at -20F. He did wear booties, because i had to walk him in the road, & I was worried about him ingesting ice-melt chemicals. I have also read that the Alaska Husky (short-haired sled dog used for reacreational mushing) was developed partly because it’s easier to put a coat on a cold dog that to keep a double-coated one from overheating. em, had to smile at the horse comparison. I live in Amish country, & have often got the eye-roll at my dog in a coat or booties from an Amishman who has just thrown a blanket over his steaming horse….

One last thing that I had a question for the community about… Even with his coat and ample warm bedding in our centrally heated if slightly cool (I run warm and enjoy bundling into sweaters so our thermostat is set low enough that I wouldn’t even try keeping tropical fish) house, Otis burns LOTS of energy keeping warm in winter. While Sandy stays fairly stable, Otis almost always acts like he’s starving and actually loses weight despite the fact that I feed him about 25% more. He seems to love winter-part of the weight loss is no doubt due to the fact that he takes full advantage of his chance to run without getting hot or thirsty- but this seems extreme to me. 25% of what he eats in a day is a LOT of extra calories, burned straight up.

Does anybody else have a mostly indoor dog who needs to eat an extra winter ration? Otis is my first dog with zero undercoat and I’m wondering just how unusual (if at all) this is.

I have a greyhound in a dense rowhouse neighborhood in Philadelphia, and also spend a lot of time in the suburbs and horse farms.

Coats – I think lots of dog coat wearing is motivated by fashion, but I use one because my dog does actually get cold to the point of shivering. In the fall he has less cold tolerance, but by late winter has a much thicker coat and is comfortable at lower temperatures. He also often wears pajamas in the house, again because otherwise he shivers. I think they definitely make him more comfortable – he’ll go from awake and curled into a tiny ball to sprawled out and asleep after you put them on. He’ll also respond to the question “want your pjs?” by either not moving (“no”) or running over to stick his nose through the neck opening (“yes”).

Walking and looking at the dog – If I’m alone with the dog, I’m half watching him and half scanning for things (dogs, cats, squirrels, cars, bikes, people, sirens, street food, salt, other things to step in, etc etc). The more things, the more attention they get. I do think you get good at seeing without directly watching, also. When I first moved downtown, I worked in a neighborhood with very uneven historic paving, and tripped constantly. After a bit, though, I got to where I could avoid tripping without having to consciously be looking where I was walking. I don’t think I’ve noticed a difference in overall attentiveness by owners to dogs in urban vs suburban vs rural areas, but the attention probably does come in different forms. You don’t see the inattentive owners elsewhere because the dog is in the back yard alone rather than on a walk.

Eye contact with people – I totally understand why people unused to the no-eye-contact thing in cities would think that it’s rude, but it’s really not unfriendliness. A polite fiction of privacy, or maybe a absence of imposing yourself are inadequate descriptions that come to mind. It has more subtle rules that take some time to notice, too. Downtown in a busy commercial district, I wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone without a specific reason, but in my quiet (but still very dense and urban) neighborhood it’s normal to at least nod when you pass people. I work in a high rise office building, and there are many gradations of acknowledgement or greeting depending on how well you know someone and how receptive they look. In the right circumstances it’s not at all weird to have a conversation with a total stranger, and there are times it would not be at all rude to almost ignore someone you know well.

My two rot/shep Xs were found I don’t know where, fostered in country/suburb, came home with us at about 3 months, spent the first half of their life in the city walking daily (each pup alone) with occassional long farm visits. We knew the every quiet sidewalk, every park, cemetery, visual barrier and walking detour. Now we live more country/suburban – a good change for their day-to-day amiability. I grew up on a farm, my husband in NYC, but I’m the primary handler. My kids grew up in the city. I think the dogs were more relaxed out and about with my kids. Maybe me being uncomfortable in the city myself, uncomfortable with strangers, uncomfortable with reactive dogs, and unknown dogs myself had something to do with it. Maybe their breed mix. All invaluable training experiences. Most used commands: Watch Me! “Let’s go!” “Leave it! “In the house!” if we’re in the yard. “Enough” if they’re at the window. “Sit-Stay!”

Just thought of something else. About acknowledging other people: I followed the rule of never making eye contact while walking or taking public transportation in NYC. Honestly, for me, it was mostly because there are lots of crazy people out there and a look or nod could easily be misconstrued and often was.

But I distinctly remember when I first got a dog, I started walking with a fellow dog owner I had met in the park. And I noticed as we walked by other people with dogs, she would nod or say hello and they would reciprocate. Finally I asked her if she knew all these people just from being in the park so often and she said no, but it’s common courtesy to acknowledge another person with a dog. It was like saying to a stranger with a dog “I get it. We both love dogs.” I thought that was so cool and still do. I took up the habit and found it very comforting to have this small communication with another in a city that can make you feel very anonymous.

BTW, I would never live in the city again if you paid me. It’s just too crowded now and I love the convenience of driving wherever I want to go. As a matter of fact, the only thing I miss about living in the city (besides not having to worry about getting around in bad weather), is the dog community I was part of here and what fun we had walking off leash in Central Park.

Two things to add right now: One (relevant very much to the country!), female turkeys have ‘beards’ too. They are just a bit thinner than those of the males. (Tweezers? Wax?) Second, I agree absolutely with HFR that there are many d0g-dog reactive dogs in suburbs, perhaps a higher percentage than in the city. Here’s my guess about why: The environment in a suburb is the perfect set up for dog-dog reactivity–dogs are often walked around the same blocks, marking their territory. Often they are the only dog out at the time. Later, another dog comes by, marks, etc. Weeks later, those same two dogs are walking toward each other on a side walk. Nothing else to focus upon. Not surprising that, especially given that they are forced, just by logistics, to approach in a way that is rude in canine society. (leash, sidewalk, etc.) In the city, the sidewalks are crowded, there is lots of stimulation, tons of smells. Even potentially the “elevator effect,” — too much going on for any two individuals to focus on each other. Make sense?

I live in the city of Minneapolis (not downtown, but still the city-proper) and walk four dogs at the same time twice daily (three are mine and one is a foster). All of my dogs walk at a heel. I do keep an eye on my dogs but am paying a bit more attention to my surroundings. Leash aggression is a huge problem in my neighborhood and I take great pains to be a strong leader for my pups and avoid contact with neighbors who have no control over their dogs.

So, in order to be a leader for my little pack, I am more tuned into my surroundings, looking for risky situations. I’m looking for grates on the street in order to avoid them so my dogs don’t break a leg. I’m looking for other dogs, whether loose or on leash. I’m looking for traffic. I also am aware of my dogs and gratified to catch them glancing up at me often, which indicates (to me anyway) that they are looking for my leadership. Huskies do not normally tend to look to humans for leadership decisions. They tend to be more likely to make their own decisions as independent thinkers.

One thing that I think suburban dogs should learn is this: when walking by a house with a resident dog who is territory barking, the leashed dog should look in a different direction and not at the barking dog, and should not stop and sniff or potty in that area.

This is something Jack does naturally. When we walk by a house with a barking dog, he curves his head subtly away from the house and never stops to sniff or linger. After we pass the house, he looks up at me and grins. However, if we are in neutral territory (a park, say) and there is a posturing aggressive dog, he actively sniffs the ground which I have been told is an appeasement or “I’m no threat” signal.

Well-socialized dogs do this sort of thing naturally, but it should be easy enough to train a dog to put some approximation of this on cue, perhaps by training them to focus on your hand or something similar.

This does not usually stop the territorially dog from barking, but it DOES often keep the dog from escalating to the point where it sounds like it wants to come over the fence or out the window.

You have got me thinking about dog coats – Poppy, my toy poodle, has a couple of pure wool jumpers (pure wool stays warm even when wet) that cover her tummy and are very useful when she has just been clipped and it turns cold and wet. Poppy will tell me when she wants one on, coming to have it slipped over her head as she gets out of the car. I tried putting one on Sophy, my papillon, who was decidedly unimpressed! We rarely get really cold weather in the UK, of course. She hates rain, but even rain is better than wearing clothes. And on days when they may have to spend several hours in the parked car (they much prefer spending time in the car with regular breaks and walks to staying at home) they have a comfortable crate filled with blankets and a hot water bottle, refilled as necessary.

Just a quick comment. After living in Madison for about 18 years and then moving to Seattle, I am too also astounded by the number of dogs wearing coats. It kind of makes me giggle that everyone thinks their dogs are cold.

Rain coats, sweater coats, boots, hats, you name it, they are wearing it.

Well, this has been enlightening for me: my dog wears a coat, but according to the advice here, doesn’t need to most of the time. Great to know. I will continue to use the raincoat since it saves me work. He’s so happy on walks that he doesn’t mind it a bit.

I walk in the suburbs and watch both my environment and my dog constantly. He’s 10 months, and a bit of a nervous type so I don’t want to miss an opportunity to treat good behavior or move away and treat a fear/ nervous issue. The bane of our walks are all the reactive dogs that owners just drag down the street making no effort to modify the behavior or move away from us. We’ve gotten used to our criss crossing walks, and treating for eye contact while moving forward. I’m proud of the way he’s coming along; I wish other owners would help their dogs too. Dog poop on or near the sidewalk is another constant, even with poop boxes loaded with bags put out by our neighborhood association. Even with all that, we both love our walks, and I’m convinced they make me a better person. I’m so much happier after them.

I live in a city with access to parkland for walking. Training for walks off leash are first done at home: recall; ‘look at me;’ ‘check in;’ and leave. Every walk includes these, which builds a great bond and keeps our attention focused on us.

Despite living in AZ, my dog wears a coat. He is a working dog but has to be kept on low weight due to CHD. I was surprised to see how much he seemed to enjoy wearing his coat and how eagerly he waits to have it put on. A 125lb dog (that stands almost 33″ at the withers), wearing a coat is a comical sight but it seems to give him the extra warmth he needs to be comfortable outside at night. Dare I say that when he gets his coat put on he also gets a special hug which he appears to love? 🙂 Thanks to your writings, his nightly jacket hug is a family joke. “Don’t you know dog’s don’t like to be hugged?!” Appreciate all your writings!

I’ve lived mainly in the suburbs so can’t comment on the super urban walks. Useful cues for us are heel (when crossing a busy street, in a crowded area or when there are bicycles whizzing by), wait (mainly at alleys which have blind corners – the streets I can see the cars coming), and directionals (right, left and keep going straight). I also taught Sienna to switch sides. Rather than naming the sides we use cross=cross in front of me and switch=cross behind me. Those are SO useful I will teach them to all of my future dogs!

Sienna has a heavy double coat so she doesn’t need extra protection from the cold. She does have a raincoat because when it does rain (happens occasionally California lol) we still go for walks and it keeps her from needing to be dried and shaking water all over the house. It’s more for me than for her 🙂

A fascinating discussion as usual and I want to comment on so many of the subjects. This is the third time attempting to post this. The cat kept walking across the keyboard and kicking me off the internet. Apparently he thinks I should spend more time on a cat related blog. While we have taken Ranger with us to Seattle on occasion for the most part when we go it’s for purposes where he wouldn’t be welcome. We do take him to street fairs and festivals so he’s familiar with crowds, chaos, and massive distractions. His leash has a traffic grip (hand grip near the collar) as well as the grip at the 6’ length. He knows if I’m holding the traffic grip it means stay close. He also knows “other side” so I can move him to either side as needed. That and staying close are the two cues that are most useful in crowded contexts. I was pleased to see someone mention keeping dogs clean as a reason for so many city dogs to be wearing coats. That’s the first thing that occurred to me, that it’s much simpler to wash a coat than to wash a dog. It’s not that some of the dogs aren’t probably wearing clothes as a fashion statement just that the practical application of keeping the dog cleaner is another reason that could explain the abundance of coats. I’m intrigued by the number of people who are constantly watching their leashed dogs. Personally, when Ranger and I are walking we’re communicating up and down the leash so I never feel the need to constantly watch him. Walking Finna I do have one eye on her watching like a hawk and the other scanning the environment for the next hazard. Ranger I can trust to be sensible but Finna is an explosion ready to happen. Although I do have an amusing leash walking story about Ranger. Having heard a number of tales of therapy dogs being held captive by their collars I deliberately chose to make his working collar loose enough to easily slip over his head and I taught him the cue back out so he has options to get away if his collar is being held by someone that won’t turn loose. We were on our way to school so he could listen to kids read and walking across the parking lot with the bulk of the leash in my hands all of a sudden something changed. I looked back to see that he’d slipped his collar and was looking quite surprised. Since the collar and leash are largely just a formality when he’s working I simply asked him to come onto the sidewalk and slipped his collar back on. On the subject of coats, Ranger has a raincoat so he doesn’t arrive damp for therapy dog visits. He’s such a good dog that he just accepts these strange additions with no objection. When it rained 3 inches in less than 24 hours neither dog wanted to go out but they both needed to so I put the raincoat that isn’t quite big enough for Ranger on Finna. Apparently the hours and hours I spent desensitizing Finna to towels and harnesses paid additional dividends because she didn’t object at all. As a general rule they don’t wear raincoats but it’s nice to have them when they need them. I love all the descriptions of letting the dogs decide whether or not they need their coats or pjs. Having spent the last several years living with and trying to rehabilitate Finna I’m sure that one of the reasons there are fewer reactive dogs in cities is simply because there is no way to manage a highly reactive dog safely. In the city the dog is going to have to go out to eliminate and there’s no way to keep their environment contained and controlled. Living in the suburbs or a rural location the dog probably has a fenced yard where it is possible to control their environment to a large extent. In a city environment the only safe course of action for Finna would have been euthanasia but living in the suburbs I had the option of keeping her confined to our yard while I try to rehabilitate her until she can be a safe member of society. And finally on the subject of walking the dog while still tethered to one’s electronic devices. I’ve never been a fan of that. When I’m walking the dog I’m sharing the walking experience with that dog. I use an app called Walk for a Dog that logs the distances I walk my dogs and then donates a small amount to a dog rescue organization I support. I was quite startled and rather annoyed after a recent walk when it rewarded me with a trial membership to Audible since clearly if I was walking the dogs I needed something to distract me and keep me entertained as obviously just being with my dog wouldn’t be sufficient. I love audiobooks in many circumstances but walking my dogs is not one of them.

I live in the country (small farm with sheep, chickens, etc.) and work in a suburban city about 20 miles away. When I walk to/from where my car is parked at work, I see a lot of clothed dogs – I even said to myself once, “since when did dogs start needing clothing?” and then looked around quickly, realizing I said it aloud. It’s about 50/50 with the clothing, and the same for eye contact with the folks walking their dogs. The walks do look so… lifeless, sometimes. The dogs seem as listless as the owners. One homely little hound mix with an odd conformation (legs/feet) just tugs at my heart. I’m sure she is loved, but she’s just one of those dogs that gets you. The older I get, the more I find almost all dogs tug at my heart in some manner anymore.

My own crew of three are spoiled and adored. The two Setter boys run the property collarless (fully fenced/crossfenced and gated) with bird dog delight. The unruly, people-loving Rottweiler just watches them, not really getting it, but conserves her energy – she’s a great help with moving the sheep into pen or pasture, but can get a little overzealous with too much stimulation from me. When I take any of them for walks it’s purely for enjoyment on both our parts. They’re all pullers (which actually can come in handy on some of the hills near town), but I don’t really care. The walk is for them as much as me, and their enjoyment is infectious. I’ve come a long way in my dog evolution – a saying I identified with in my twenties was “It’s about control” (from the Schutzhund folks). I have done a 180 on that – the free-spirited joy of a spritely Setter will cure you of ever wanting to control a dog. They all have basic manners so we can go out in public, but we stop often for sniffing, and I go at their speed (if I can keep up!). I love seeing the world through their eyes/senses.

Trisha, that makes perfect sense for why dogs may be more reactive in a suburb setting. That would also explain why I’ve seen dogs become territorial over a dog park too. They will tolerate the dogs they know, but if a new dog comes into the park, watch out. Same smells, same space. Very interesting. Thanks!

I always feel sad when I see bored border collies being walked in the city on leash, so I devised this street game for my boy when we moved into a smallish city in Ontario.

Equipment: 26′ flexi and one soft frisbee. THE GAME. The dog’s job is to carry the frisbee at all times, to HEEL (left or right) with ATTENTION when passing people or dogs and people, and when crossing the street. I use “1,2,3 etc, OK” to build up the anticipation.Reward is to be RELEASED ahead. “Yippee”. Hitting the end of the leash either forward or backward (happens very seldom) results in the handler stopping and the fun ending for several minutes discussion.

Very loud crashes or “oh gawd an airplane overhead” bring on a frisbee tug and catch game. Periodically we stop for sniffing, but potty is done at home before leaving. I do have a “SAY HELLO” to greet friendly people or dogs for a two second sniff. And I do go to off-leash areas where we play freestlyle frisbee or chase off the geese.

I don’t live in a city but the mention of “no eye contact” worries me. I use eye contact (or lack of) with other dog walkers to convey a lot of things. No eye contact – we just want to pass by quickly and safely. Me stopping and making eye contact with the owner of the off-leash Rottweiler meant I wanted that owner to get the dog leashed and held back before I would proceed (he got the message). Eye contact with a smile conveys “cute dog, may be appropriate to greet my dog”.

I’m fairly new to this blog (Hi Trish! Huge fan! :-), and this post was particularly interesting to me, since we spend our weekdays in NYC (Brooklyn) and weekends in the country (rural NW CT). The comments have been so interesting to read! To add a few of my own:

I’m an obsessive dog-watcher, and in my almost 19 years in NYC (both Manhattan and Bklyn) I’ve definitely seen an increase in the number of dogs in jackets/sweaters. Conversely, I almost never seen a “dressed” dog in the country. I do think fashion/trendiness is definitely part of it. But I also think there can be more of a need in the city. For example, city dogs are actually often out for quite long walks, at a fairly leisurely pace, accompanying their owners on errands, etc. around the neighborhood–and because they’re on-leash, they’re not getting to run around and warm themselves up as much as country dogs probably do on their walks. They might have to sit and wait outside while mom/dad pops into the coffee shop–and that inactivity is chilly! And country folk might not be aware of the “wind tunnel” effect that happens on some city streets, that can actually make them colder than a country walk! Also, you see many many more pit bulls in the city than the country–most of those poochies have really really thin coat of their own. And if they’re recent rescues, they’re often very skinny. At the shelter I volunteer at I’ve seen many a pit bull who so obviously feels the cold and really needs that jacket.

It’s also not been my experience that people in the city are generally less attentive to their dogs than in the country–I agree with the many previous commenters that when you’re walking the dog in a busy city environment you simply have to be as attentive to the environment as to your dog. I also believe city dogs are generally better behaved and well-mannered than dogs in the country, simply because they have to be. I live in a very busy neighborhood with loads of dogs (so much fun!), and it’s very very rare that we actually experience leash aggression from another dog toward ours (and I literally don’t think I’ve *ever* seen an incident of leash aggression against a person). I think when you own a dog in the city who has that problem, you know you simply *have* to work on it, and you learn very quickly how to manage it. I do often see people crossing the street or holding their dog at the edge of the sidewalk as we pass to preempt issues; others will simply say, “sorry, my dog’s not friendly to other dogs” as we pass so we know not to let our dog close.

All of which is to say, I find that city dog owners are actually extremely attentive and thoughtful (even if it may not always outwardly look like it), and I have a lot of respect for how responsible they are toward their dogs and their neighbors. 😀

To Nina: First, welcome! And thanks for your thoughtful additions. I do see now how coats could be practical in the city… both because their bellies can get dirty and because they can be colder than dogs allowed to move at a faster rate if off leash. As a matter of fact a friend (I’m talking to you Harriet!) called me to say that her dog never seemed cold when running loose in the country, but would shiver on cold days when leashed walked in town. Makes sense… we get much colder just standing around than if moving fast certainly.

And I also appreciate all the comments about city dogs versus suburban or rural dogs and aggression issues. As I said in an earlier comment, it does seem to me that suburbs almost ask dogs to be dog-dog reactive, while busy sidewalks are less so.

All this is making me want to visit NYC again. Soon. But then, Maggie and I just worked sheep at a neighbor’s and it was so beautiful in the snow covered fields surrounded by oak/hickory woods. Not to mention watching Maggie work. She is doing well, and is such fun to work!

The comment about city vs suburbia & dog reactivity made so much sense. My guys, especially Spot, can be VERY reactive. But when we go to a behaviourist, he shows hardly any reactive behaviour. And it we are abroad, also very little.

It is almost as if both my dogs object to new dogs moving into the neighbourhood without their consent? Does that make sense? Spot once responded very strongly to a male dog that I had never seen before and it surprised me. Then I found out they practically live behind us. We just walk in different circles. So although we do not meet, the dogs do smell each other every day…

Hmmm food for thought: with the next dogs we might just have to do more socialising outside e our own little town…

Re coats; my Siberian have coats. I bought them when our previous dogs were getting older. We go to Norway each year, we like to make a ski-tour from cabin to cabin. The dogs then have to sleep outside and it can be very cold there. The dogs were happier and lost less weight when I put the coats on them at night. @Em Janouk could lose 2 kgs in 2 weeks; that was about 10% of his bodyweight, in spite of lots of extra calories. If Otis eats the extra calories and does not gain weight, I guess it is “normal’ for him and I wouldn’t be worried. (Janouk had an extra ‘problem” he always started shedding his winter coat in February but we always went to Norway in March, I refrained from combing him, which resulted in a dog that looked like a mottled carpet but hey, every extra hair in place =more warmth).

I’m with you…some of my best observations occur when I’m watching my dog interact with life around him and I’m richer for seeing it. Far too often we encounter people who are totally immersed with their smartphones then the dog and I think why are you bothering to come outside if you can’t stand 30 minutes without immediate access to a Twitter feed? Sigh. 🙂

My daughter grew up in the Texas suburbs with us but now lives in NYC. A non-dog-owning dog lover, she always tells me about meeting dogs and their owners in the city. Her most recent episode involved a little dog who made eye contact with her. My daughter smiled at the dog and the little charmer came running over to see her. The owner said the dog had been found on the streets of Puerto Rico and sent up to NYC for adoption. I think recognizing friendly faces was a real life saver for her.

WOW! How have I just now found your blog!? Amazing! I’m a people watcher… And this skill (or curse) has afforded me all sorts of unwanted insight into peoples needs, habits, and lifestyle. When I started doing dog rescue about a year ago my “skill” turned out to be a necessary asset. I think it’s easy for some to look at a dog in distress and say the obvious-abused, malnourished, sick, hurt… But beyond that learning their personality, what they like, how do they play, do they know how to play, did some of my foster dogs (Boxers) prefer the floor instead of the couch because they were used to the floor? I had so many questions and the only thing I could do was provide the obvious essential needs, then watch and wait. Your article reminded me of all this I think because I wonder how many pet owners struggle to get those coats on, and how many dogs don or don not feel inhibited by them? I have two Boxer’s of my own- King and Kong- and when we tried the coats for winter, neither one would go to the bathroom when they had the coat on. There wasn’t anything wrong with the fit, not baggy, and not too tight. I think for me, being on the east coast, it’s ll about what they’ll tolerate. If it’s too cold for a walk, they’ll let me know.

I really like Trisha and HFR’s comments about suburban dogs and aggression. As far as the yard thing goes, I’ve come to believe that unsupervised yard time is one of the worst incubators for aggression out there in mainstream suburban dog life. There’s both consistent reinforcement (someone’s coming, freak out! ok great they left) and variable reinforcement (someone’s coming, freak out! Oh no they’re not leaving! Freak out more!) and it makes dogs nuts. If it were less socially acceptable to put dogs out unsupervised I bet we’d see a significant drop in serious bites in my city.

For me, the city demands that far more of my focus be on my surroundings, and that would leave less for the dog. You have to register and anticipate the behavior of so many other people and vehicles. I think I would manage to visually check in on my dog, largely because it’s v ray ingrained habit to want my eyes on him, but it would be impossible to let him be out in front meandering and sniffing while I mostly watch him which is common in our actual suburban walks. Even when we go to a small town downtown where we are walking closely past cafe tables and storefronts I bring him in close and my visual attention gets split, and that environment contains far fewer challenges and safety risks that an urban walk. As it is, I feel the relief of taking him to a wide open space away from traffic and being able to focus 90% of my visual attention on him compared to the maybe 50% I can devote when we are on a suburban sidewalk, crossing paths with unpredictable drivers and other pedestrians.

Andy, interesting what you say about the territorial behavior being self-reinforcing because people were going to walk by anyway, but the dog thinks his barking is what did the trick.

There is a freight train that passes within a half mile of our house about three times a day. It sounds its horn entering a tunnel. Jack gets angry and he barks his deep, chesty, “How dare you!!!” bark. (he never barks at the train when he’s away from the house, so it’s not a sound-sensitive issue).

I commented to my husband that from Jack’s perspective, his plan works: He says “Hey big sounding thing, don’t you dare come any nearer the house!!” And it never does…..

(the look on his face when we were actually walking near the tracks when the train went by was priceless. So wish I thought to snap a photo).

I live in Dallas Texas, not quite in Downtown but only about 5 mins away. The streets around my complex are by no means NY streets and are not packed with people, but there are still some city concerns. Safety from cars and strangers are the biggest concerns, since I am a single female walking my non-threatening 8lb dog by myself and 2 of the three times I walk her a day are in the dark in the winter months. I do carry a flashlight when walking her in the dark though so I can watch out for serial killers hiding in the bushes (I watch too much Criminal Minds), landmines (people here are horrible about picking up their dogs poop), and to make sure she isn’t getting into anything she shouldn’t or walking around/on glass. The two most important commands I have found for us are leave it (for stuff she shouldn’t have her mouth, like that cigarette on the ground) and heal. All that being said though, I love watching my dog walk and do it 90% of the time we are on our walks. She makes me smile and I try to keep my eyes on her as much as possible for the pure enjoyment of it if not also for learning more about her. It upsets me to watch other people walking their dog with their face in their phone, not only is it not safe being unaware of their environment but they are missing out on the experience of having a dog. It just never gets tiring watching that little tail wag and she trots happily along enjoying every scent she can find and leaving pee-mail everywhere.

Living in a rural area near a small town my dogs are mostly off leash. But after having only big dogs, I adopted a 10 lb silky haired dog. She wears a coat in winter for two reasons. Because she is so short her belly and chest accumulate huge snow balls if the snow is wet at all, the coat covers her and keeps her dry and also means there is no painful pulling balls out her hair once home. It’s very practical, fleece lined with a water resistant outer shell, but wasn’t that easy to find, most coats are certainly designed more for fashion then practicality. The other reason she wears it is to keep her warm in the vehicle. Unless it’s very cold the dogs come shopping and on town visits then we’ll go somewhere for a walk. If she has to stay in the vehicle for an hour or more the coat keeps her warm. I have started using a coat with my 15 year old Lab mix for the same reason, she gets stiff if left too long without it, but when out and moving she doesn’t need it.

Some of the comments seem a little judge’y! We lived in downtown Boston for the first 8 years of our Boston Terrier, Max’s, life. Living in a 5th floor walk-up, we took him out to do his business at least 4 times a day (when I worked from home; at other times, we had a dog-walker come for one of those). By my calculations, that means that during that time my husband or I took him out at least 10,000 times. Max was adored, but I am SURE I was not gazing lovingly at him all the time, every time I was out walking with him, and it seems presumptuous to criticize those who are not “looking at” their dogs when we see them. Our walks certainly weren’t sad. Even if I was not looking at him, we were so close that I would know what he was doing and probably even what he was feeling – probably content to have me near him and happy to be out sniffing and exploring. I don’t continually gaze at my husband when I am out with him, either 🙂

Also, a lot of our walks were for business, not pleasure. Walking was our mode of travel, and Max was accustomed to that from the time he was a very small puppy. Max was my companion, and we did things together. I’m sure it helped that he was so thoroughly exposed to people and dogs all his life, that he became bomb-proof — happy to greet any dog or person, but also happy to ignore them and continue on our way. By the time we left Beacon Hill, we could walk him off leash in our neighborhood, and he would wait outside the corner store while we popped in. Our most useful cue was “Wait”, for stopping at the corner or pausing to let us catch up.

Regarding clothing: when Max was young, there weren’t that many dog coats available. I made a fleece sack, and if I though he was cold, I would put it on the ground, he would scoot in and turn around so his head was sticking out, and I would carry him that way until he was warmed up and “asked” to be put down. In later years he had a coat and I would hold it out for him to see if he wanted it on, and sometimes he did. Cool to hear that others’ dogs “choose” to put on a coat, too!

I live in eastern panhandle of WV and we rarely get subzero temps. When I got my Springer (5 mos), I got all caught up in buying dog stuff and bought several coats – raincoat, raincoat with fleece, polar fleece and wool lined with polar fleece. WHAT A WASTE of money. The only two worth using are the raincoats (and he likes them). They do keep him dry, reduced the wet dog smell and make coming in a quicker cleanup/faster dry down. The other two are not necessary. He does not need for short walks and he quickly over heats in them on long walks. I kept the fleece one in case he is ever freshly groomed (clipped down) in the middle of winter AND we get a subzero event (HA the proverbial cold day in hell!)

What a wonderful post (and amazing bunch of comments!) As a city dog owner (NYC) I often feel we get left out of some training advice because what is practical in the suburbs or country is often not scaleable for the city- I’m so glad to learn about these “city dog” books!

I adopted a 2 year old hound mix earlier this year and we’ve been working hard on her leash reactivity to dogs, squirrels and sometimes people. I got my last dog when she was 6 and she had no reactivity issues, so this training was all new for me. I expected our walks would be simple and fun – and full of multi-tasking on my part (talking on the phone, etc.) – I had to change that mentality entirely. Now, a lot of times, I don’t bring my phone with us at all – and if I do, it’s only to listen to podcasts or music on longer walks. I find when we get to busy areas, I have to turn everything off and focus entirely on my dog.

I quickly realized that this new dog required much more attention. I’m constantly looking at her, talking to her, praising her good choices, warning her about bad ones that might be coming. I have become an expert on her body language- I can see in her ears or forehead when she catches sight of another dog or squirrel that she’s going to react to and I set up our redirections then.

I sometimes get frustrated at my neighbors who are distracted while walking their dogs who also have dogs who are reactive. They have smaller dogs than my 50lb mutt, so once they start lunging and jumping they can easily drag them away without looking up from their phones.

As far as the coat issue- my dog tends to “run hot” as far as body temperature goes- but I do have a coat for her when it gets in the teens and below. We haven’t had to wear it more than 2-3 days this year (but boy does she look cute in it!) I have had a couple of people walk up to us on the street on cold-ish days and ask me “where’s her coat!?” So, I wonder if some of the coat wearing is a little bit of peer-pressure?

Having a dog in NYC has taught me that there’s no shortage of “opinions” on how you should be caring for your dog. (Nothing is worse than walking your leash-reactive dog past her fifth dog of the walk, having her finally reach her threshold that you’ve been carefully trying to manage while still properly exercising her – and getting a neighbor yelling “CONTROL YOUR DOG!” as they pass you by.)

I think that wearing coats is a ‘fashion’ driven by advertising 🙁 Here where Winter daytime temperatures rarely go below 60F (16C) the pet shops are full of fancy winter coats for dogs. And in Summer when the temperatures rarely go above above 95F (35C) the shops are full of cooler-coats. I personally think that dogs look uncomfortable in coats. But I do understand that in N America things can get awfully cold.

I’ve noticed this about not talking to the dogs in England for ages! Not only do people not look at or talk to their dogs when they change direction they just yank the lead. And usually these days their eyes are glued to their smartphones too. It often seems to me that people don’t really want a dog and I dont know why they have one. They drearily take “the dog” out twice a day on a lead to relieve itself and that’s it. Why have a dog? Plus those extendible leads are a menace because the dog runs around and not the slightest effort is necessary to control it or interact with it.

The idea that life is easier and more pleasurable if you teach a dog to walk to heel apparently never occurs to anyone. In fact they probably don’t even know what that is.

Ok so maybe I missed this in all of these posts but the one thing as a city dog walker that I wish other City dog walkers would do is to walk their dog on the right. Dogs are trained to be walked on the left because in the country you walk against traffic and you want your dog on the other side of you so you are between the dog and traffic. In the city your dog should be on your right so you are between yourself and any other dogs that might be walking, might be aggressive or might have anxiety problems. Personally I train my dog to walk on both sides. I wish others would do the same. My city dog is an Australian Shepherd mix which I love watching all the time.

I am not a dog owner, but some of my dearest friends have been dogs. One of my dearest was Sadie, Melissa McCue-McGrath’s exceptionally smart border collie.

My wife Judy and I live in L.A. (the one in California, not the one in Maine), and we meet a lot of city dogs here. By my observation, more dog owners here relate to their dogs while walking than they do in NYC or Boston, but they are still the exception. Most people– even some of those professional dog walkers who wrangle 6-8 dogs at once– tend to multitask while dog walking.

Usually they are on their phones. If not deep in conversation with someone on the other end of the earbud (their Big Break is always just another meeting away), they are deep into social media, email, or –for one brief summer–Pokemon Go! They are also frequently pumping music through their earphones when not making calls. All of this while simultaneously parcing the constant background input of city life, including minding traffic, defending personal space, etc. Especially during morning walkies, dog owner’s minds are on the challenges of the coming day, not on bonding with their dog. They just want Fido (I’ve yet to actually meet a dog with that name) to do his business and keep up with the pace of the morning jog. They are late for whatever!

Surprisingly, many of the dogs I see seem accustomed to this arrangement, and cooperative. A quick check of the morning neighborhood peemail and plop! The most common forms of rebellion seem to be A.) Witholding defecation, to prolong walk time, and B.) Passive-aggressive prolonged peemail sniffing.

I never approach a dog unless the owner echoes their dog’s invitation, but I often exchange looks and greetings with city dogs who are starved for interaction. Many city dogs spend all day alone, while master is at work, and walk time is not only their major exercise of the day, it’s also their closest thing to quality time with their owner, family or other Earthlings. I fancy I often see it in the pleading eyes of even very well behaved city dogs. They are instantly attracted to anyone who isn’t on a cell phone.

Back home in rural Maine, I enjoyed the ritual of casual greetings between passersby– the nod, the one-finger salute from behind the wheel, the peculiarly Maine intake of breath signifying acknowledgement and affirmation of our shared existence.

I thought I’d miss that in the city, but it is not lost. I now share those quiet gestures of recognition and kinship with passing city dogs yearning to connect. I feel like, for some of them, that’s a rare thing.

I live in a very small town in south central Nebraska. My current canine companion is a female Great Pyrenees mix, who was rescued from abandonment. She was intended to be a farm dog, therefore never learned a lot of commands she needs to have to do city walking–including “Come.” Consequently, she is never off-leash when we are outside, except when we go to the nearby dog park. Once a year, I do take her, in costume, to the Halloween Parade in Hastings; She loves it! This past Halloween, though, there were several other dogs also parading. Since Great Pyrenees were bred as livestock protectors, she isn’t good with other dogs. So I have to keep a close watch on her when we’re Parading. Our morning walks are our time to bond with each other, so I watch her when we’re walking. Can’t imagine any conscientious dog parent not doing so.

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About the Author

Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.

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Patricia is known the world over for her clear and engaging books and DVDs on dog training and canine behavior problems. You can also “meet” Patricia in person on her seminar DVDs, from The Art & Science of Canine Behavior to Treating Dog-Dog Reactivity.